Blocked callers

When you block a phone number, its calls never reach your AI Receptionists. The caller hears their network’s busy tone, the call is never answered, and it uses none of your minutes. You manage blocked numbers on the Blocked callers tab of Calls and messages, beside the Conversations tab. Everyone in your workspace can use the tab, whether their role is Admin or User, and the list records who made each change.

What blocking does

Your workspace has one list of blocked numbers, and it covers every AI Receptionist and every phone number in the workspace. Block a number once and it’s turned away whichever of your numbers it rings.

• The caller gets a busy tone. The call is never answered, so your AI Receptionist never speaks to them, and no minutes are used.
• Blocked calls stay out of your figures. They aren’t listed on the Conversations tab, and they aren’t counted as Missed calls on Analytics. The Blocked section of this tab counts them instead.
• It starts with the next call. Blocking a number never cuts off a call that’s already in progress.
• It’s the same number however it’s written. 020 7946 0311 and +44 20 7946 0311 are one number, and the list always shows it in the international form, +44 20 7946 0311.

The three lists

The tab opens with a reminder that blocked numbers get a busy tone and use no minutes. Below it are three sections: To review, Blocked and Marked not spam. Each heading shows how many numbers the section holds; click it to fold the section away or open it again. To review starts open, and the other two start folded. On a phone, each number is a card rather than a table row, with its buttons underneath.

To review

To review lists the numbers your AI Receptionists flagged as spam in the last 30 days, so you can decide what to do about each one. Nothing is blocked until you choose to block it. After every call, your AI Receptionist reads the conversation back and notes whether it looked like spam or a wrong number: these are the calls the Conversations tab marks Potential Spam. To review takes only the spam. A call your AI Receptionist took for a wrong number doesn’t put its number here, so someone who simply dialled you by mistake isn’t suggested for blocking, though you can still block them from their call. Numbers already in Blocked or Marked not spam aren’t listed either. Each row shows:

• Number — the number that called.
• Why they called — a short line on what the caller wanted, from their latest spam call.
• Spam calls — how many of their calls in the last 30 days were flagged as spam.
• Latest — when the latest of those calls was.

The numbers with the most spam calls come first, then the most recent. The section shows ten numbers at a time, with a pager underneath once there are more. Click a row to open that number’s latest spam call in the same conversation panel the Conversations tab uses. There you can read the summary and transcript, or listen to the recording, before you decide. When nothing is waiting, the section says “Nothing to review. When your AI Receptionists flag a call as spam, its number appears here.”

Blocked

Blocked lists every number your workspace turns away, newest first. Above the list, a line says how often blocked numbers have tried to call in the last 30 days, for example “Blocked numbers have tried to call 4 times in the last 30 days.” That total includes calls from numbers you’ve unblocked since. Each row shows:

• Number — the blocked number.
• How it was added — “Flagged by the AI, blocked by” and a name when someone blocked it from a call your AI Receptionist had flagged as spam, or “Added by hand by” and a name when someone typed it into Block a number or blocked it from a call that wasn’t flagged.
• Added — the day it was blocked.
• Tries since — how many times it has called since it was blocked. Every one of those calls was turned away.
• Last tried — when it last called.

Each row has an Unblock button: see Unblock a number.

Marked not spam

Marked not spam lists the numbers someone in your workspace has said are genuine. As the section puts it, “The AI won’t suggest these numbers again, however often it flags them.” Each number shows who put it there and when: “Marked not spam by” a name and a date, or “Unblocked by” a name and a date for a number that was taken off Blocked. Each has a Block button and a Clear button. Marking a number not spam doesn’t change how its calls are handled. Your AI Receptionists answer it as they answer everyone else; the mark only keeps it out of To review.

Decide about a flagged number

Each number in To review has two buttons:

• Block asks you to confirm first. The dialog is titled with the number, such as “Block +44 20 7946 0311?”, and says “Calls from this number will get a busy tone and never reach your AI Receptionists.” Select Block to block it, or Cancel to leave it where it is. A blocked number moves to Blocked.
• Not spam acts straight away, without asking. The number moves to Marked not spam and won’t be suggested again. If you change your mind, use its Block or Clear button there.

Block a number from a call

You can block the caller of any incoming phone call, whether or not it was flagged as spam. Open the call from the Conversations tab, or from a row in To review, and select Block this number under the chips at the top of the conversation panel. Then select Block in the dialog to confirm. From then on, the panel of any call from that number says “This number is blocked.” along with who blocked it and on what date, with an Unblock button beside it. Block this number only appears on incoming phone calls that came with the caller’s number. It isn’t offered on chats, SMS messages, the web calls you make when testing an AI Receptionist, or calls from a withheld number.

Block a number you type in

Use Block a number for a number that hasn’t called yet, or one you’d rather not look up first. If what you typed isn’t a valid phone number, the dialog stays open and says why under the field: “That isn’t a valid phone number. Include the area code, and for a number from another country, start with + and the country code.” Correct the number and select Block number again. Typing a number that’s in Marked not spam blocks it and moves it to Blocked. Typing one that’s already blocked leaves it as it was.

Unblock a number

You can unblock a number from either place it shows as blocked:

• In Blocked, select Unblock on its row.
• In the conversation panel of a call from that number, select Unblock beside “This number is blocked.”

Either way, a dialog titled with the number, such as “Unblock +44 20 7946 0311?”, explains what happens: “Their next call will reach your AI Receptionist as normal. We’ll also mark the number as not spam, so the AI won’t suggest it again. You can block it again at any time.” Select Unblock to go ahead. The number moves to Marked not spam, reading “Unblocked by” with your name and the date, and its next call is answered as normal.

Let a number be suggested again

To remove a not spam mark, select Clear on the number’s row in Marked not spam. It leaves the list straight away, without asking, and your AI Receptionists can suggest it again. If it has had a call flagged as spam in the last 30 days, it goes straight back into To review; otherwise it reappears there the next time one of its calls is flagged. To block a number in Marked not spam instead, select Block on its row. This Block doesn’t ask you to confirm: the number moves to Blocked straight away.